Economic evaluation of a comprehensive oral and dental HIV programme

This book consists of four interlinked studies that examine both costs and consequences of a dedicated oral and dental programme for HIV-infected patients at both of the hospital outpatient clinics, Kalafong and George Mukhari Hospitals, and the orphanages. The programme was compared to the status quo for patients who are dependent on the public sector for oral and dental care. The viewpoints of both people living with HIV/AIDS and of Gauteng Health Department were adopted. Beneficiaries' demographic characteristics; types of oral mucosal lesions; dental caries status and trends are described. An appropriate selection of costs were identified, measured and valued. These included: costs of organizing and operating the programme; costs of seeking care, and cost per patient and mucosal lesion/carious tooth appropriately treated. In total, 1027 patients accepted the programme between 2005 and 2006. Their ages ranged between 1 and 70 years. Antiretroviral use was high at 69% in adults and 60% in children. Candidiasis was the most common oral lesion recorded in both adults (81.1%) and children (61.5%). Caries prevalence was significantly higher (p = 0.002) in children receiving HAART.